Never Take It Off
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: ["I'll be here for you when you return..."] Go enjoy some more Jara perfection! :P R&R! Oneshot! *I don't own NTIO bracelets or Never Take It Off by Automatic Loveletter!*


**Alright, I was inspired by NTIO (Never Take It Off). Their bracelet A Promise to Each Other, is beautiful, and I just had to write this for Jara! :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"So, what's so special that you had to drag me away from our friends and out in the woods?" Mara asked teasingly. Her right hand was tightly clasped in Jerome's left as they followed the dirt path.

The Anubis residents had been having a small party, celebrating their graduations, but also saying goodbye to each other. Each of them was going to college, and a few of the friends were going to the same schools, except for Jerome and Mara, they'd been accepted into different schools, thousands of miles away from everyone.

Jerome swung their hands slightly. "Can't I want to hang out with my girlfriend without needing an ulterior motive?"

"I don't know…" she said slowly, studying his pale face.

He looked down with a small smile. "I guess you're right," he admitted. "I do have an ulterior motive."

"And that would be?" she questioned quietly.

"Not yet." He told her, squeezing her hand gently.

"Oh my, gosh, of course; I date the most perfect guy in history and he turns out to be a murderer." She sighed softly.

"I'm not going to murder you." He rolled his blue eyes.

He stopped and turned to her. They were in a random clearing, trees surrounding them, making the spot very secluded, and a fallen tree was behind him.

"You are going to kill me, aren't you?" she asked teasingly when he reached into his pocket.

"Yeah, that's what I'm doing. Come on," he led her to the tree and lifted her onto the fat trunk.

"What am I, five?"

"No, that'd be really bad. It'd be babysitting, not dating; and rape, not—"

"Why did you bring me out here?" she cut him off, blushing prettily.

"To give you something, and ask you something."

"What?" her voice barely above a whisper.

"You don't have to, if you don't want to. But I love you so much; you know that, don't you?"

Mara nodded, hands gripping his shoulders tightly. "I love you, too."

"And with the whole college thing, and not being able to be together, and not trying a long distance relationship; I guess I just want some reassurance. I can't lose you again; it'd kill me."

Mara hated it when she saw him like this; nervous, insecure, scared. It told her that he trusted her, when he let this side of him come to the surface, but it also hurt her knowing that she was the cause.

"As cliché as this sounds, this would be a symbol of our love. It'd be a promise to each other. You and I will get back together after college. We'll still love each other through school, and then even longer. I want to make sure I don't mess this up. So, this bracelet would represent that."

She looked down to his hands. He held up a bracelet by its thin, white cord. He looked down too, taking a deep breath.

"Yes, Jerome, I'll wear it." She spoke softly, cupping the side of his face.

He grinned, kissing her cheek. "This is how it works. I tie it on and you say your vow. If you cut the bracelet off, the vow is broken. This particular bracelet is called 'A Promise to Each Other'. The two big beads are Promise Beads, and the one between them keeps them connected. Can you keep your promise to me?"

"Absolutely," she answered.

"Give me your right hand."

She silently held her hand up and he wrapped the cord around her wrist. He tied it once and then gazed at her.

"Repeat after me, I'll be here for you when you return."

"I'll be here for you when you return." She echoed.

"He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me."

"He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me." She used her free hand to cup his cheek and she pulled his face down to hers show she could plant a small kiss on his lips.

Jerome nodded with an encouraging smile and finished tying the bracelet on. Once he knew it was tight enough, he reached into his pocket. "Now, this one mine," he explained, pulling another out of his pocket, but it was black. He handed it to her. "Tie it on like I tied yours."

Mara followed his instructions and tied it onto his right wrist once.

"I'll be here for you when you return. She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me." He vowed as she finished tying the bracelet on.

He took her right hand in his. He entwined their fingers together and pressed their wrists together. He snaked his left arm around her waist and pressed his lips to hers, pouring all the love he had for her into that kiss, and she did the same with just as much, if not more.

* * *

Mara bit her bottom lip, jotting down the next line of lyrics. She was seated in the college lounge and three of the friends she'd made since she had arrived four years ago sat with her. Penny and Will were laughing about something they were watching on Penny's tablet, and Jasmine was quietly reading a book.

"What are you working on, Nerd Girl?" a voice asked and someone plopped down next to her, peeking over her shoulder.

"A new song, Luke, one that you cannot hear until I'm finished with it." She stated, closing her notebook.

She was studying to be a doctor, but music always caught her interest. Every once in a while she'd get the inspiration to write a song and she would work on it all she could until the inspiration was gone. But the inspiration for this song didn't leave; she hadn't been able to put the pen down since that morning.

"When do we get to hear it?" Penny asked, brushing her dirty-blonde hair out of her eyes.

"I just need to write the music…sometime after lunch, I guess."

"Alright," she grinned, pushing Luke out of the way and sitting next to Mara.

"Hey!"

"You know, if you two weren't step-siblings, I would think you were in love." Will mumbled.

The others stared at him and he shrugged, continuing to play Fruit Ninja on Penny's tablet. Luke and Penny glared at each other, choosing to ignore Will's comment.

Mara shook her head and her mind drifted off to the man she loved. She hadn't seen him since the day the parted ways four years ago. They had tried to get together during holidays, but after many things had gotten in the way, they had given up the first year, and then the second, and the third, and this year they hadn't talked at all. They had lost touch. Mara still loved him more than anything though. She wore her promise to him proudly, and never once did she think of someone else the way she thought of Jerome Clarke.

She could only hope he did the same.

* * *

"Okay, my new song...you guys ready?" she asked, strumming the acoustic guitar's cords once. "It's really short, but it means a lot to me." Mara smiled and she stroked the two Promise Beads on her bracelet for a second, thinking of her Romeo.

"It's going to be great, I just know it." Jasmine nodded enthusiastically, putting her book down and giving Mara her full attention.

"If I gave you my heart, to wear upon your arm, would you lend me all your scars to bear? I swear, I'm here," she took a deep breath. "And never take it off. Never take it off. 'Cause we're all tied up in knots…" she strummed the final cords and her friends clapped.

After their applause died down, someone spoke behind her and her heart skipped a beat.

"I swear."

She placed her guitar on the floor and she was in Jerome's arms in a second, gripping him tightly, burying her face in his neck and breathing in his scent. Jerome did the same to her, lifting her off the ground, making sure she couldn't escape his grasp. He didn't want to let go.

"You swear?" she asked, running a hand through his glorious, dirty-blonde hair. The hair she'd missed so very much.

"I swear." He repeated, placing her back onto solid ground, but wrapping her up in a kiss that made her head spin and her knees go weak.

When they pulled away, she clasped their right hands together, their promises to each other meeting.

"Never take it off," they whispered together before their lips met again.

* * *

**So...that was it...I'll have links for the song, and the bracelets on my profile, if you wanna know what they're like. NTIO bracelets and necklaces are gorgeous! I just got my first one yesterday! And I looooooovvvvvveeeeee it! **

**Review? **

_**The mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning. -Proverbs 14:6**_

**-Rachel**


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